A steel and wood hybrid structure, part boat, part plane, part animal, and part sleigh, carries a large19th century cast iron bell, a small dark house, and floats over a dark well. A mast, which is attached to the bell, rises, and points to the sky. The structure tracks the seasons and points to the azimuth of the setting sun. A forked flag describes the wind. A seat invites a participant. A handle on a small steel house allows a participant to raise a weight from the well and send it down again. Opening the hinged roof of the house reveals that it contains two line segments of Melville’s Moby Dick, which are offered as a gift to the participant. “Loomings” is the title of Chapter I of Melville’s Moby Dick and refers to events just over the horizon in the novel. As the title of this sculpture, it refers to an object of metaphoric travel, capable of journeying beyond the horizon to memories, past and future, of times and places, where our collective identities still reside. This sculpture began its life 14 years ago when it was built for a show in Brooklyn NYC, along the East River under the Brooklyn Bridge. The second paragraph of Moby Dick which begins, “There now your insular city of Manhattoes,…” inspired me to construct this work for the New York City waterfront. In 2001, it journeyed to, to the Whaling Museum, New Bedford, Massachusetts, in walking distance of the many landmarks featured in the early New Bedford parts of Moby Dick. Since then, it has been weathering in the piedmont of Virginia. I have always wanted it to journey to other sites from Moby Dick and am very pleased that its latest incarnation brings it to Key West, a town perched on the edge between the Northern and Southern hemispheres, the edge between land and sea, populated by dreamers, visionaries, and those who look to the horizon and future with hope. William Bennett is dreamer and sculptor, born and raised in Bergen County, New Jersey. He discovered his passion for sculpture while studying with and assisting the sculptor William Lasansky, at Bucknell University. He went on to study with John Paul Darriau and Don Sandstrom at Indiana University where he carved an architecturally scaled earthwork in an abandoned Quarry in Bloomington, Indiana. In 1975, he moved to upstate New York near Syracuse where he began work on his second quarry project, which is still in process, in an abandoned portion of a limestone quarry formally owned by Allied Chemical in Jamesville, NY. Since 1979, he has been creating sculpture and teaching sculpture at the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, while dreaming of an unknown magical place, just over the horizon, which he now knows is Key West. William H. BennettDec. 1, 2012whb@virginia.edu(434) 960-7837

“Thomas Hughes/Thomas Jefferson Navigator” William BennettFull Scale Sculpture: 18’ tall x 10’ x 10’ Cast and constructed bronze, stainless steel, earth and stone mound, solar lights., fabric. Expected completion: spring 2014First Installation: Grounds of the University of Virginia The “Thomas Hughes/Thomas Jefferson Navigator” named after Thomas Hughes, the Historian of Science, UVA Alumnus and commissioning party, and Thomas Jefferson, Founder and Architect of the University of Virginia, is a large outdoor machine sculpture of bronze and stainless steel. The central element is a small bronze observatory sitting on an earth and stone mound. An arm with water references springs from the rim of the observatory dome. A small cast bronze woman in a boat floats above this “water” element. Grasping the waist high stone end of this “water” arm, a visitor/participant can walk in a circle turning the Observatory Dome. Above the Dome, 12 degrees off axis, a five-spoke wheel alludes to a solar system with a “sun” form at the center and “planetary” forms at the ends. This solar system wheel can be turned and positioned independently of the rotation of the dome by a visitor/participant. The five “planets” are small sculptures on their own alluding to Being, Hearing, Seeing, Touching, and Water. Vectors leave this planetary wheel and reach for the sky. They terminate in a space frame constellation with the image of a peaked roof house. Each of the five corners of this house is marked with a small solar light, allowing the constellation to be visible at night. A temporary exhibition of this work has been proposed for the South Lawn Circular Plaza in the Fall of 2014. In this position, it will be on axis with the historic lawn and one of the “Navigator’s” inspirations, Jefferson’s Rotunda. As part of the continuing debate between Classic and Romantic, the “Navigator” pays homage to Jefferson’s Neo-Classic temple by reducing its size and expanding its vision toward Jefferson’s “Romantic nature” to include a dream like dance connecting Heaven and Earth, Science and Sensuality. William BennettSculptorUniversity of Virginia McIntire Dept of Artwhb@virginia.eduJune 2013

In the above simulation, the red striped building, Tower Machine of Warning and Gifts, contains a hidden Gumball machine, which accepts quarters and dispenses 1” round objects of various types as “Gifts”. In the interior installation pictured above and proposed for TSKW, the rotating wind vane on top of the striped building and the red pennant on the striped pole are activated by moving air from oscillating fans in the space with the sculpture. This version has five wave like arms. Located at the ends of these arms are small sculptures within the larger construction. They are listed below: (A Detail of #3. The Kinky Boot is pictured below the text) 1. Tower Machine of Warning and Gifts, 2. Striped pole of Red Atmosphere, 3. The Kinky Boot, (Pictured Below) 4. The Horn of Plenty, 5. The Sword of Spirit“Twittering Machine” for The Studios of Key West is a sculpture of spring steel waves, designed to celebrate the vibrant community of Key West and to raise awareness and money for AIDS research, prevention, and cure. In this work, I propose a partnership between myself, The Studios of Key West, and Aids related Charities. “Twittering Machine” is conceived in the spirit of the magic, mystery, and mischief of Key West. The title and inspiration of the sculpture comes from Paul Klee’s 1922 drawing, Twittering Machine, in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, NYC. My proposed piece will borrow the machine like imagery of the Paul Klee as well as the movement, whimsy, and audience participation alluded to in Klee’s masterwork. It will be powered by human interaction. It will participate in a gift exchange with viewers who can participate by donating a quarter in exchange for a small gift. The gift of a quarter will support aids charities. It is hoped, that each small gift by the general public will be matched by a larger matching gift by yet to be determined sponsors. In this sculpture, the idea of the gift is embedded in its form and function. Although the art world of our time is fueled by commerce, I believe that Art, at it’s core, is based on a series of gift exchanges. In this case, the sculpture is the first gift that is given to TSKW for a period of time. During that time, the sculpture acts as a catalyst and invites community participants to give a gift of $.25, a quarter, to aids related charities. The sculpture then dispenses a token gift to the participant. This nominal gift exchange is then matched and added to by sponsors. In this way the gift keeps growing, and in the end is the gift that fuels the efforts to eliminate this disease thereby insuring the future of all. William Bennett April 30, 2014

"Twittering Machine" (detail)“The Kinky Boot, ” bronze, ball chain, small door that can be opened by a participant and which closes by itself from the action of the weight at the end of the ball chain (not pictured in this detail)